Smith will welcome 703 new first-year students this fall, selected from 4,128 applicants, the most in the history of the college. Thirty-two percent of the Class of 2015 is composed of students of color, and 15 percent of international students.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – This year, as the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States approaches, one young woman from Afghanistan will begin her education at Smith College as part of the legacy of a man who died that day in 2001.

Asma Amin was able to come to the U.S. from Farah Province, Afghanistan, with the support of the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation, named for a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to crash into the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

Goodrich’s parents, Donald and Sally, established the foundation in honor of their son, to work with private and public secondary schools and colleges and identify educational opportunities for student exchanges.

“We are joined by many who believe we can take affirmative steps to fashion a safer, more equitable world,” note the Goodrichs on the foundation's Web site. In addition to supporting students such as Amin, who attended Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield before coming to Smith as a first-year, the foundation has built two schools and a water reservoir in Afghanistan.

International students such as Amin represent 15 percent of the Smith Class of 2015.
This fall, 703 first-years, 56 transfers, and 30 Ada Comstock Scholars (nontraditional-aged undergraduates) will arrive.

Sailing along the coast of California and Mexico for a year with her family exposed Emma Casey to a marine world that fascinated her enough to want to pursue marine biology. She has already completed an internship at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Tiburon, Calif. While Casey continues to study, she has mastered another skill: leather making. At age 10 she began to turn strips of leather into sheepskin slippers and belts. Recently, Casey set up shop at a local arts-and-crafts collaborative where she designs, creates and sells her leather goods.

Jordan Dubin turned the tragedy of a house fire that destroyed her family’s home into a research project. When her parents and a group of contractors and tradesmen began to build a new home that would be carbon neutral, Dubin became interested in sustainable technologies. In a junior year science research and methodology course, Dubin gathered data about how people can reduce energy consumption by more than 75 percent and carbon output by more than 85 percent. After Dubin presented her research to the Southampton Board of Education, the board included it in the school department’s capital improvement program. She will soon present her findings at the Intel Talent Search Competition.

Having grown up in Senegal, Mame Sourang knows what it is like to live with conservative gender roles and to lack proper health treatment. She was able to pursue her interest in medical practice and women’s issues in underrepresented communities at the Montefiore Health Opportunity program, a six-week summer internship that allowed her to shadow healthcare professionals and attend lectures. Eventually, Sourang researched and presented her own lecture on the health risks of female genital mutilation and circumcision, an issue for African women.

Although Elizabeth Anderson-Krengel’s journey at Smith is just beginning, the college is already deeply rooted in her family history. Dating back to 1894, an astounding 12 women in her family have attended Smith. More than her family connection, Anderson-Krengel was drawn to Smith for its all-women’s environment and its “sense of empowerment and strength.” She plans to pursue her interests in psychology and performing arts.

Kirstin E. Dand of Northampton
Ada Comstock Scholar and local radio producer

While living in Virginia, Kirstin Dand would listen to WNRN, a community radio station in the nearby town of Charlottesville. When she heard they were looking for volunteers, she signed on to help out and eventually had her own daily show. Dand moved to Northampton to work at WRSI and WHMP and eventually produced “The Bill Dwight Show.” Now returning to college to earn her bachelor’s degree, Dand hopes to integrate all her interests through the arts, technology and theater programs.

Having encountered gender discrimination in her native country, Meena Yousufzy sought out and earned scholarships to study in the U.S., at Tomkins Courtland Community College. However, she did not leave behind her efforts to do away with discrimination. Yousufzy has served on the board of directors for the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering global educational opportunities for Afghanistan’s upcoming generations. And, she is involved with Solace for the Children, which provides medical and dental care for underprivileged children. Yousufzy also writes for the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, which encourages Afghan women to share their opinions.

Jessica Fries combined her interests in sewing and history into a hobby creating gowns based on historical patterns. Fries re-creates antique gowns for plays, festivals and friends. One of her most recent pieces is an 18th-century English Polonaise gown. From its open robe to its hoops and undergarments, the piece required up to three hours a week for an entire year to re-create.